The streets of the warrior’s tower were usually a little chaotic. There was no helping that fact. It was a place specifically made for people to come and train in combat skills, it was bound to draw a bit of an unruly element among the more respectable people simply trying to improve themselves, but even those who would consider themselves hardened veterans of the city's sometimes rougher atmosphere couldn’t help but be suprised by what they were seeing as a crowd marched forward, one particular man in the lead, alone in hearing the cry of a god in his head.
Of course I’m having fun, I’ve never started a riot before!
It wasn’t like he’d lost his rage. Someone in another faith had just tried to kill him and he didn’t even know why, along with more than a few others who had been put in a worse spot because one unscrupulous individual had been willing to take some bribes instead of being willing to focus on prioritizing the world as a whole, but Ben was a man who contained multitudes. His mind was complex enough that even if only a couple of dozen thoughts in his head had calmed down, it was still more than enough to enjoy the thrill that came with leading an angry mob all the way to the city's communal church, where it looked like some watching gods had already notified the priests within as a group stood outside to greet the crowd.
“Calm down, please, all of you calm down!” The oldest of them and likely the church head yelled out. “We’ve already been informed of what has happened, the gods will take charge of readjusting who will be sent to each point and the one who abused his authority in this situation will be properly punished to the fullest extent of the law for his crimes. There is no need to go further than this!”
“You say the man will be punished, but what about those who paid him to begin with!” Ben yelled back. “Make no mistake, this was attempted murder! Will they all see the same punishment such a crime deserves?”
“Yes! Yes, of course, so there's no need to go on with this any longer!”
“Even the oracle of Olensia?”
It was the identity of the one who’d tried to arrange both Ben and Sachel’s demise, ripped from the mind of the planner, and it was a bold enough reveal that the priest hesitated, just long enough that Ben took hold of the conversation, turning again to face the crowd.
“I thought not! We can't stand for this just because they're an oracle! We are all equal in this world, unified by our shared threat! A priest, an oracle, an apostle, no life stands as more valuable than your own, not even that of the gods! Why should anyone get slapped with a light sentence for a crime against another because of the position they hold? A crime that specifically tried to take advantage of the danger the world's in? A crime that ignored proper need in order to cull a few, with the potential to leave the entire planet worse off in the process? I ask you all, are you satisfied letting that stand?”
“NO!” The crowd screamed, the mob mentality breaking even the bred-in reverence for the gods.
“I thought not! We demand real justice, not whatever slap on the wrist his god wants to provide! In a relationship where they feed off our faith and give so little in return, it's time they realize the value we have!”
…maybe
Ugh, fine.
“As the apostle of Myriad, I tell the gods this! Punish the ones who attempted these crimes against the world's fighting force or we'll make sure you see firsthand how much more you need us than we you.”
A cheer went up amongst them, both those he’d lead from the colosseum and those who’d joined along the way, their curiosity or destructive desires bringing them into the crowd to hear his proclamation, with their feelings made clear from the notification going off in his head.
Huh, I kind of get the first one, I’m definitely making a scene, but what the heck is title holder? An achievement-type title again?
Sounds good, just a sec.
He ran ahead, Greed still in hand before turning back to address those with him as he went to take a seat in preparation for what was going to come next.
“It looks as though the gods are calling me up to talk about the oracle who'd been attempting to assassinate both myself and the oracle of Myriad! Just let it be known here and now, I plan on taking them for all they’re worth!”
He gave a manic smile with the statement that the crowd ate up, much to his satisfaction. Realistically, there was only so much he could get out of the gods for what happened, he wouldn’t be able to get the benefits he wanted for hundreds of people, but it was important to have them on his side beforehand so the gods couldn’t try and run a smear campaign for it after the fact, should one be so inclined.
With as much dealt with as he could, he put his enchanted band down for Greed, asking him to work the crowd as Ben closed his eyes and brought himself to his god’s realm, seeing seven others there and waiting for him.
As per usual, there was both Myriad and Helori, the two by his side given what happened, along with the golem-like god Phixth who had led the last meeting he’d been a part of, with two other gods who’d been a part of the negotiations as well.
As for the last two, he was seeing the oracle of Olensia, the very one who’d tried to lower his odds of survival, looking deeply uncomfortable and ashamed to be there, as well as the one who must have been his god, giving an explanation as to why they’d wanted him dead to begin with, leaving Ben to give him a deep smile.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Hello again, Ropey.”
A god shaped like a wolf that by all appearances looked made from strands of rope, it was the same god who had threatened him in the last meeting he’d been in. The same one whom Ben had punished by denying each of his believers the chance to awaken, losing him more than a few in the process.
“Mortal,” He acknowledged with a snarl, leaving Phixth to raise a hand, trying to calm him.
“Apostle Ben,” The stone god nodded, getting the same in return. “I suppose it’s obvious what brought us here so what do you say we cut to the chase and discuss how to handle this in a way that can leave all parties satisfied?”
“I think I can tell you straight out the gates that there’s no conceivable future where everyone leaves satisfied.”
“Huuh, maybe so, but I’d still like to try. The planner who’d been accepting bribes, Tutu, along with all of the mortals who’d given them in the hopes of having their enemies injured or killed will all be appropriately punished, with the first facing execution and the others looking at the same or a split between varying years of imprisonment or serving in the future waves if they have the skills to make it work depending on the circumstances that lead to their crimes. The issue is what to do with the oracle Qwent.”
“Execution.”
Ben didn’t blink saying it, staring at the man he would happily condemn to death. The oracle had tried to not only kill him but had even dragged Sachel into it, likely only due to the fact that they shared the same faith. He saw no reason he should be merciful, nor any reason he shouldn’t get that punishment, even if Olensia wanted to argue.
“How dare you. Qwent is a proud member of my faith, one little lapse in judgment does not demand a death sentence!”
“If he’s a proud member then I wonder how garbage the rest of them are?” Ben laughed in his face and got to see the god’s contort into a deeper rage as a reward. “This is no lapse in judgment. You don’t just happen to stumble upon one of the guys in charge of helping plan for the invasion and do that as a spur-of-the-moment thing. This was premeditated, and frankly, I want to know if you’re involved.”
“It was all me!” Qwent shouted now that accusations were being tossed at his god. “Olensia has done nothing wrong! I’d heard how his worshipers were being denied by you and-”
“That’s enough,” His god silenced him. “It doesn’t matter how it happened, my people need their oracle. He’s trusted among them and this is a delicate time, you all know that here.”
“Which gets to the heart of the issue,” Phixth nodded before directing his gaze back at Ben. “So tell us, apostle of Myriad, how can we resolve this in a way that doesn’t leave oracle Qwent dead or imprisoned?”
“You mean how do we solve this without this asshole being punished?” He asked sarcastically, getting a weary response.
“I’m sure you’re able to think of plenty that might satisfy you.”
Well, that’s true.
He could see on Qwent’s face a look of relief growing that annoyed him to no end and he was fairly sure he knew where Phixth thought he was going to go with this anyway, especially after his past dealings with Eneth.
“Fine, if you don’t want to actually punish the main perpetrator then I suppose it will be up to his guardian to bear the cost. Ropey, give both me and Sachel your full blessings and open up your church coffers. You’ll be treating the rest of those in the crowd to dinner and drinks tonight.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You are asking too much,” One of the others, a god Ben hadn’t learned the name of but looked like a giant bird, told him. “One or the other, not both.”
“Not either!” Olensia yelled out. “Why should I lose either my faith or my church funds! He wasn’t harmed, nor was he guaranteed to be harmed! All that happened was that he was put at risk.”
This time it was Myriad who spoke, his voice filled with his own anger. “You’re in no position to be deciding this, you’re on trial as much as your oracle.”
“And it’s not too much because this is supposed to be a punishment,” Ben said firmly, looking at the gods around him. “If he gets off too lightly then there’s nothing to stop another one of his believers from deciding to give it a try as well, punishments are meant to punish specifically because they’re awful. It discourages repeat offenses.”
The table erupted into arguments and Ben let the gods bicker amongst themselves. He was content to stare down the oracle across from him, seeing the other sweating bullets with all he’d caused with the volume only rising, seeming to have no end in sight, with that fact making him take action.
He mentally eased the restriction of his sacrilege for those at the table, making gods that weren’t used to it be faced with his monstrous mind as he spoke up, aligning every voice in his head with the statement to make those who could hear his thoughts feel like they were being screamed out.
“I won’t settle for less so if you refuse to agree here I suppose I’ll just have to make you face the consequences.”
“Consequences? You dare threaten me?”
“Sure, why the fuck not? It’s clear from this that I’ll get a free pass for any punishment since I’m an apostle, just like your idiot over there. Hell, I’m too important for any of you to actually punish, you’re just too dumb to see it. I can help awaken certain magic holders and know there’s people training themselves to the edge of death to try and get to their eighth level to take advantage of that, I can enchant multiple gates a day which I’ve been told has resulted in more being built as we speak, and I’m probably the only person on the world who can mass-produce ultra-rare items at the sort of speeds I put them out. Frankly, I’m so much more important than your oracle it’s not even funny, but since you think it’s so important he lives, either pay up or I’ll take my angry mob containing hundreds of awakened skill holders and lead them to whatever’s the biggest church you have connected to a gate. Hell, if that's not your head church then after I’ll find it myself and destroy it.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Watch me.”
With his thoughts revealed, every god there knew he wouldn’t back down, nor did he think it would be hard. It was just a building, albeit one strengthened with a god's divinity, but he was sure there was no end of things that he could materialize and enchant his sacrilege on to give him the destructive power he needed.
Who knows, maybe doing that will end up being just what I need to finally get my third tier of sacrilege. If that doesn’t do it, dealing with his oracle just might.
That final thought did it. Every god there could feel the desire, the hunger it contained as he thought about how such an act could be the final push he needed, something none of them wanted to see come to pass. They all found Ben to be hard enough to deal with as it was, they didn’t want to deal with him for eternity in a state where he’d have that sort of divinity over them.
“Olensia, let me make this clear. Since you need your oracle to live, this is your punishment and you will be doing this,” Phixth told him, and this time no others disagreed, cornering the wolven god and leaving him to see he had no allies among the representatives there, and without another word he and his oracle vanished, leaving only the notifications going off in Ben’s head.
Well, that title might get me one step closer to getting my third tier so I’ll take it with gratitude. Thanks Ropey.
“We’ll end things with this,” Phixth said firmly and Ben gave no argument, he’d gotten what he’d wanted, all that was left was to spread the word.
Giving one last nod to the gathered gods, Ben went back down, hearing as Greed kept yelling through the mic and catching a look at Sachel’s confused face at gaining a new blessing, but decided that could be left for later, he had something else to say as he got up, bringing the crowds eyes back to him.
“Eat, drink, and be merry ‘cause tonight everything’s on the church of Olensia!”
A roar of excitement went up with the announcement and with it, a party broke out.